The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands: Collapse, Transition and Transformation

The Terminal Classic in the Maya Lowlands revisits one of the great problems in Mayan archaeology—the apparent collapse of Classic Maya civilization from roughly A.D. 830 to 950. During this period the Maya abandoned their power centers in the southern lowlands and rather abruptly ceased the distinctive cultural practices that marked their apogee in the Classic period. Archaeological fieldwork during the past three decades, however, has uncovered enormous regional variability in the ways the Maya experienced the shift from Classic to Postclassic society, revealing a period of cultural change more complex than acknowledged by traditional models.

Featuring an impressive roster of scholars, The Terminal Classic presents the most recent data and interpretations pertaining to this perplexing period of cultural transformation in the Maya lowlands. Although the research reveals clear interregional patterns, the contributors resist a single overarching explanation. Rather, this volume's diverse and nuanced interpretations provide a new, more properly grounded beginning for continued debate on the nature of lowland Terminal Classic Maya civilization.

Arthur A. Demarest is the Ingram Professor of Anthropology at Vanderbilt University. Prudence M. Rice is associate vice chancellor for research at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Don S. Rice is associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.